It’s that time of year again: the sun is slipping into twilight more rapidly every day, evenings are getting chillier, and the forests are shedding their leaves before we head into the slumber of winter. The deep darkness of October, of course, concludes with the eeriest celebration of the year: Halloween. Whether you’re a horror film fanatic or prefer to just take in the rich colors and crisp air of the season, there is something to enjoy this time of year, and we have just the music for you. Check out our Classically Halloween playlist on the following streaming sites — if you dare.
Listen to the full playlist on your favorite streaming platform today.
EARMOVIE II — “The Haunted Garden”
Jeffrey Hall
Jeffrey Hall’s “The Haunted Garden” evokes a ghastly quality that evolves into unexpected sparks of fluttering, bubbling, and blipping synth-wave and heavy-set bass lines. Eerie in the way of a modern sci-fi thriller, this deeply musical work effectively captures the nature of the spirit with a flair of cosmic-horror.
EARMOVIE II
If you crave a deep dive into a new and exciting solar system of starry digital soundscapes, Jeffrey Hall’s EARMOVIE II is certain to take you on an interstellar ride.
MARTA, THE TEMPEST — The Phantom of the Opera
Marta Brankovich
Every pianist makes a piece their own, adding flourishes and signature accents, but Marta Brankovich takes artistic interpretation to a new level. Leveraging her passion and irreplicable touch on the piano, the black swan of piano conjures an unforgettable storm on MARTA, THE TEMPEST. Brankovich’s modern adaptation of Phantom of the Opera, featuring guitarist Denver Cooper, is stylistically infused with power metal, making for a dark and exhilarating musical treat.
“Reimagining classical music with the power metal sound is bringing classical music to a new medium/genre much closer to a wider, younger audience who understands the act of change. Finding musicians such as Denver Cooper brought Ying to my Yang in a musical sense of thinking.”
Marta Brankovich
MARTA, THE TEMPEST
Weaving themes of adversity, opposing forces, and oneness with a profoundly emotive approach, Brankovich delivers a powerful program in this Navona Records release.
GAMES OF THE NIGHT WIND — Nocturne No. 10
David Jaeger, Christina Petrowska Quilico
GAMES OF THE NIGHT WIND plays to the unfettered wildness of the night, a force of nature encapsulated in every aspect of Petrowska Quilico and Jaeger’s musical and poetic collaboration, an elegant exploration for the night owl in us all. Teeming with slow-building suspense and dark tones, this piece depicts the wild, uncontrollable atmosphere of the nocturnal realm.
GAMES OF THE NIGHT WIND
Christina Petrowska Quilico joins lauded composer and champion of new music David Jaeger on GAMES OF THE NIGHT WIND, a dreamy musical landscape premiering 12 of Jaeger’s original nocturnes in addition to seven 20th century solo piano works.
FROM THE BACK ROW – Toccata and Fugue, in D minor, BWV565
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Low Brass
It would be truly horrifying to make a Halloween playlist without Bach’s iconic Toccata and Fugue. A staple in Western horror cinema, this piece is grandiose, dark, and hair-raising, and is given a unique performance by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s low brass section in this release.
Although integral to the symphony orchestra, the low-brass section is seldom featured, and this recording is an opportunity for the listener to discover the special sounds and characteristics of this group through one the most haunting and widely recognizable works in classical music.
FROM THE BACK ROW
This album consists primarily of chamber music, some of which was composed specifically for this instrumental combination. Also featured are innovative arrangements of piano and non-brass chamber music, and short excerpts from the orchestral repertoire.
SONGS FOR A NEW CENTURY — Three Chorales for Cello and Piano: 2. “In Death’s Dark Vale”
Judith Weir, Jonathan Miller, Randall Hodgkinson
Judith Weir’s Three Chorales for cello and piano meditate on religious poetry, departing from hymn texts No. 2’s title, In death’s dark vale, is a brief paraphrase (from a Scottish hymnal) of Psalm 23; the full quotation is “yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
“The image here is of human life lived against the prospect of impending death. The cello plays a hasty, self-absorbed continuo, whilst around it, piano motifs and chords of different height and depth create an evolving backdrop.”
Zoe Kemmerling
SONGS FOR A NEW CENTURY
The singing quality of string instruments ties together SONGS FOR A NEW CENTURY, a program featuring both world premiere recordings of new music commissioned for the artists and world premiere recordings of masterpieces by Mendelssohn.
